


Memories

by GreyWardenCousland



Series: The Fight for Tomorrow [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Childhood, Eventual Relationships, Gen, Growing Up, One Big Happy Family, Young Warden, growing up in ferelden
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-24 23:09:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17109917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyWardenCousland/pseuds/GreyWardenCousland
Summary: This fic will follow my OC Elissa Cousland in her journey through a slightly altered re-telling of the events of DAO.The first chapter is some family fluff I headcannon for her, because I adore the Cousland origin and wish we got more time with the family. It contains a lot of Easter Eggs for Eleanor Cousland, the Warden's mother, who is an amazing lady.The next chapter will begin the events of Origin so prepare for heartbreak, and the most amazing dork you have ever seen.





	Memories

She kept to the shadows, watching the passing servants with a care usually attributed to predatory birds and cutpurses, mindful of the late hour and consequences of even the tiniest mistake. She had only just escaped solitary confinement and had no intention to be returned to its cruel grasp. Wisps of golden hair fell into her eyes when she crouched down, but she was so focused on her target she barely noticed. She had been waiting an eternity, or so it felt, but she did not mind. She was nothing if not patient, and she would wait her mark out if necessary.

The much larger man turned his back and she nodded to herself. Just a bit longer, and it would be done.

He stepped towards his desk, leaned over to rest his hands on the hardwood top.

That was it.

She pounced out of hiding with a vicious war cry.

'Anneliese Blair Lilian Seònaid Cousland.'

Arms came down from above, grasping her around the waist as she struggled desperately to regain her freedom.

'Honestly, child,' her mother admonished, hoisting the now limp toddler on her hip and giving her a scowl. Elissa pouted and crossed her tiny arms in dignified protestation.

Bryce Cousland, Teyrn of Highever, was doubled down laughing over the desk, unable to catch his breath enough to either admonish his youngest or placate his wife.

 

***

 

Eleanor sighed and straightened her eldest son's jacket in a vain attempt to make him look presentable. She was secretly impressed with her children's talent for trouble, but it would not do to encourage them just now by showing it.

Earlier that same day, Elissa had managed to sneak past her nanny and the woman's helpers and found a secret passage in the pantry. It being secret, it stood to reason that she shared it with her elder brother and none else, which resulted in a day long frantic search for the two youngsters. They finally found the two around noon, when hunger had led them back out from whence they came to beg her nanny for anything edible. The poor woman had had vapours and it had taken Eleanor a full hour to calm her down. The woman had been in such a state; despite the strictness of her rules,  no one could mistake the deep affection shared between the young girl and the woman who had helped raise her.

You would think that the four summers between them would make Fergus either more responsible or more prone to being the head cause of the mischief, but it was more often than not her youngest who managed to set the stage for disaster, her older brother a willing participant. Between the two of them, they were sure to turn both her and Bryce grey and have the running of the teyrnir under wraps before either one was old enough to marry.

Bryce had his hands full with his daughter today. She was barely up to her father's hip but looked a perfect lady in a gown accented with the Cousland blue. It was one of the first times Elissa would be properly introduced to anyone who was anyone in Ferelden and her father had taken lead in introducing her. Fergus stood by her serious-faced, the perfect charming young man to even those who had personally experienced his mischievous streak.

The large room was crowded with nobles and Elissa stood to her father's right, clearly sullen and still smarting from the ear bending she had received for her earlier stunt. Eleanor wasn't sure what had stung more, the telling off from her parents or the fact that her nanny now point blank refused to tell her any more stories for a whole week.

Eleanor smiled briefly when her husband caught her eye, a brief but poignant show of support.

The children behaved themselves well for the rest of the brief banquet, although their parents wisely kept them from exchanging more than a glance and a nod to prevent further mutiny. Elissa and Bryce led the dance, joined after the requisite steps by Eleanor and Fergus, although the party itself was kept short in light of the children's still young ages. Eleanor watched closely for any sign of the tricks Elissa was becoming worryingly adept at, only admitting to herself her own less than ladylike behaviour at that age.

Once every respectable goodbye had been said and honours bestowed upon their more noble guests, Eleanor sighed softly as she leaned against a table. The children had finally been allowed to reconvene and were animatedly discussing something at the other end, seated close together. No doubt they were discussing the cruelty of their punishment and re-enacting some of the more interesting scenes they had been witness to, now that the other could properly offer their interpretations, sympathy and commentary. Despite what a handful they were, she smiled to herself at the image the sibling offered, an exhausted kind of bliss settling over her heart.

'Ah, there you are my love.'

Her smile widened and she turned to wrap her arms around her husband's waist. 'Do you have it, dear?'

His grin was answer enough for her - and, it seemed, also for the children, who had ceased conspiring as to their next big plan and had scrambled over in a non-too-subtle attempt to hear what was being discussed, on the reasonable assumption that if their parents were trying to keep something from them they would need to find out what it was. Now that the guests had gone, they had reverted to their usual behaviour - she could only be grateful of their carefully instilled upbringing that had made them the perfect little angels while anyone outside the family looked on.

Bryce pet both children on the head - a feat more impressive with Fergus, who seemed to be growing a foot a day -, and turned around to lead them back to where two servants were carrying a box.

'Pup, did you like your presents?'

'Yes papa,' came the honest, yet slightly disappointed answer. 'I made sure to thank everyone who came.'

'And she did a fine job of it as well,' Eleanor added, hugging her daughter briefly to her.

Bryce crouched down to her level and winked at Fergus, who hugged his mother and watched with interest. Elissa raised an eyebrow at the display but did not say anything further.

'I know you were hoping for something else, pup.' His daughter's big honey eyes looked up at him, solemn and mature for her age. 'But I just wanted to thank you for taking it so well when you did not get the present you wanted. It honours your mother and I that you would understand so well.'

Elissa shrugged and looked down at this, feeling suddenly shy at the praise. Her father was a loving man, quick to praise as well as correct, and she knew Fergus would have gotten the same treatment but it still felt odd to be singled out. Despite the age difference the siblings were usually addressed in the plural. 'Fergus got a doggy when he was my age, but I understand that it isn't up to me and the mabari puppies have to pick when they're ready.'

He stroked the hair from her face, trying not to ruffle her braids less he suffer the nanny's wrath as well. 'That's right pup, and to make up for it your mother and I thought you may enjoy something else.'

He grabbed the box and thanked the men before turning to his youngest and presenting her with it. The girl looked up suspiciously, eyeing the box before taking it over to the table. She had to climb onto a chair and kneel on it so she could see enough to carefully peel off the scented wrapping paper. Eleanor hugged Bryce as Fergus rushed to his sister's side, watching and leaning in to help when she struggled with the latch. A long silence, followed by a loud cry of pure joy and a cannonball of fluffy sleeves and bowties coming towards them at high speed as their daughter hugged both of them tightly.

On the table, in the cushioned box lay a small version of Eleanor's beloved Mistral, the skip she had captained as a young woman and upon which she had met her even more beloved husband. They smiled over the heads of their children, sharing a lifetime of love between them in that once glance.

 

***

 

Elissa raised her sword and parried, having to use both hands to be able to sustain the move against the stronger force coming down. She was short even for her age, and still chubby with childhood roundness, and the man was a full 6 feet 4.  With a huff, she pushed the other weapon off and dropped, rolled and came back up several feet away. She would later be grateful for the good leather gloves she wore, which saved her hands when she pushed off the gravel and raised herself to a half crouch, sword at the ready.

'Again!'

The man came at her in a full frontal charge. He was a trained warrior who could lift her in one hand and throw her over the boundary wall without breaking a sweat; she could not hope to be faster or stronger and her lack of experience showed. She watched his feet as she had been taught however and tensed to spring while raising her sword again as if preparing to swing. When he was just two feet away and had twisted into his own swing, Elissa threw herself to the side, handling hard on her hip but pushing into a roll that took her behind the man. She didn't waste time on getting back up as the man had realised her plan as soon as she started moving and was trying to angle his inertia to allow him to turn and face her. Instead, she swiped across his hamstrings in what would have been a battle-ending blow had her sword not been made of blunt wood.

Instead he laughed and dropped his hand to help her up. 'You got a lucky one in that time.'

Elissa grinned widely and let him get her to her feet. Ser Brynmor had been her sparring teacher since as far back as she could remember and that was as close to praise as he ever got. Long swords were not her speciality, but he gave the best hugs she had ever experienced and believed strongly that you could not truly be prepared to go up against an enemy if you didn't understand the weapons they used as well as your own.

'Or you're going rusty, old man.'

He swiped at her head and she ducked, her turn to laugh. A squire handed her a clean bit of linen and she wiped the sweat from her brow, wishing she could get out of the armour he had insisted she wear to build up her strength. It was blisteringly hot under the warm sun and the shade provided by the stables' building was sparse at best.

'For that, young lady,' came her mother's voice, the smile evident despite her words, 'you are doing it all again, but with a helmet on.'

Elissa groaned and turned around to face Lady Eleanor, but perked up the second she laid eyes on the woman. She was dressed in obviously worn but high quality leather armour, her bow strapped to her back. Elissa ran to the armour stand and equipped her helmet in record time. She loved sparring with her mother and that was the only explanation for the scene before her. Eleanor grinned and sat on the short fence surrounding the sparring ring, waiting for Ser Brynmor to finish his lesson so she could spend some quality time with her youngest. Fergus was an extremely skilled fighter and she personally oversaw his training as well, but he had taken after his father. It seemed it was the women of her line who had an innate knack for rogue training and she could not help but enjoy teaching the skills she had to someone who preferred her own fighting style.

'Again!' came Ser Brynmor's instruction. Elissa widened her stance and prepared herself, now brimming with excitement.

 

***

 

Today was, quite possibly, the best day of her life. She was practically vibrating with excitement and the only reason she was standing still was the fear that something would go wrong and she would have this chance whisked away from her once again.

The puppies had been delivered a few weeks back, and Elissa had been allowed to assist in the birth, much to her terrified delight. It had been a bloody, horrifying wonder that made her sick to her stomach with queasiness and awe (and cemented her decision that she would let Fergus deal with securing a Cousland heir if she had a say in it). And now they were old enough to try bonding for the first time.

'Are you ready, pup?' Her father asked, standing hand in hand with her mother at the door to the kennels.

Elissa nodded and tried to exude well-behaved politeness, in her clean trousers and tunic and having made sure her hair was brushed back into a long braid off her face, like her mother preferred. She could see her mother's eyes twinkle and pretended not to notice so she could keep her serious expression in place.

Fergus had gone off to give his own mabari a scratch and a treat, but she saw him watch her nervously. He remembered his own anxiety at the possibility that the puppies would simply not be interested, the waiting and the repeated attempts. It was no shame not to be chosen, but it still stung regardless and he had gone through it three times before his own mabari chose him. The bond between mabari and their chosen was a magical and rare thing and he knew she had been going mad with the wait.

Finally, the kennel-master led the way and she could hear yapping. She kept up the facade of age and patience until she reached the room they were kept and the proud mother came up to her for a prompt inspection. She kneeled down and allowed the mother to sniff her once over before allowing her in. The mabari was familiar with Elissa, whose favourite hiding spot was fast becoming the kennels' attic, but she could not fault the need to protect her young.

They were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Elissa slowly got up and made her way to the squirming pile of brown muscle and fur that was made up of about six puppies. Her eyes were as big as saucers and she started petting them carefully, as the mother mabari sniffed, licked and nuzzled them. Finally, one stopped broke away from the pups' game of trying to see who could fit their sibling's whole head in their little mouth.

It was one of the smallest ones, if not the runt, but Elissa had seen him hold his own against his siblings like a dog much older and stronger than he had any right to be. The little brown thing sat on its backside and regarded her carefully, tilting his head and looking straight into her eyes with a measure of wisdom. She felt something inside her melt when he gave a decisive yip and padded over to climb on her lap, settling down to chew on her sleeve.

Bryce and Eleanor pretended not to see the tears in her eyes as she fussed and petted her new little obsession and quietly took Fergus out in the yard to leave Elissa and her puppy alone.

It was nearly an hour by the time she exited, alone this time, beaming like the sun. Fergus was the first to hug her with an arm around her shoulders, grinning almost as widely as she was.

'I've left  Bear with his mother,' she said happily as the family started to walk back to the castle. 'He's so young, but I want to come back and make sure he's okay.'

'Of course dear, just as long as you let us know. I would rather allow it than have you sneaking out in the middle of the night and giving the guards a fright.' Her father pulled the same look he usually did with minor nobles who had come to request an unreasonable favour.

The only effect was to make Elissa look at him so innocently, you would have sworn she was Andraste herself taken flesh anew.

'If I hear you've tried it,' started her mother, 'you will be in trouble. Fergus as well. There is no way I will believe it if you say you won't be helping her try, young man.'

The children stopped and looked at each other for a moment, and nodded politely at their suspicious parents. The family had taken a few steps towards the castle when, in perfect syncronysity, two young voices started softly  humming a song. Bryce developed a sudden coughing fit to disguise his laughter and their mother bite her lip to keep quiet.

It was the tune to "The Soldier and the Seawolf".

 Eleanor made a mental note to oversee the children's security herself, as she doubted anyone else would catch them on their way out that night.

 

***

 

Bryce smiled as he watched his two children walking up the steps, looking every bit the perfect heirs. Fergus was escorting a young lady who was due to inherit her parents' arling in a few years, tall and broad shouldered even in his youth and elegantly bored to tears. Elissa was gracefully avoiding her own escort's awkward questions, and you would need to know her well to understand how much she was planning something which would undoubtedly lead the young man to social ruin if he did not learn, very quickly, to hold his tongue. Bryce made a mental note to sit one of Elissa's friends next to her at dinner to offer a distraction and avoid a small disaster for the Arl. Nothing much could be done for Fergus; he had agreed to be the lady's chaperone throughout this evening and knew better than to be a pest, where his younger sister was still at the age of pushing boundaries to see when they broke.

They behaved themselves remarkably until, about halfway through the after-dinner dancing, both Cousland siblings seemed to disappear into the mist which had started to settle over the land.

Two shadows fell over the grass as Fergus and Elissa snuck through the bushes, giggling and shushing each other as they crept. Elissa's long gown made it much more difficult than she liked, as she had to constantly watch the skirts so they would not get soiled or trapped upon an errant twig and ripped. Music floated through the night, alongside laughter and soft conversation. They exchanged meaningful looks when a particularly shrill laugh broke through the general background noise. They both recognised it as Thomas Howe's awkward attempt at seeming personable and winced. It was not either one's first party, but it would be Elissa's first where she would be considered old enough to start being seriously approached by eligible bachelors - or their mothers.

'I miss Nathaniel,' Elissa grumbled, 'at least he's the quieter of the two.'

'You just liked him because he went along with your hairbrained schemes.' Fergus' grin was a flash in the shadows and she stuck her tongue out at him.

'I'm going along with yours, aren't I? Quit your whinging. You know full well I'm your only hope to get past the guards.'

He nudged her in the ribs with his elbow but didn't say more. It was true. The 18 year old warrior-in-training was always coming to his sister's rescue when she got herself in a sticky situation, but it was the 14 year old rogue-to-be who had the skills required to sneak away from parties without causing a scene neither would cease to hear about for decades to come.

Presently they were trying to make their way out of the gardens and into the kitchens before the newest in line of perfectly respectable ladies who were frothing at the mouth to win her brother over could be introduced. Elissa secretly suspected Fergus would snap and throw the pudding at one of them if forced to play nice for a moment longer. Always the image of grace, she had kindly taken it upon herself to spare her family the embarassment and remove him for a while.

The siblings were still softly bickering when they turned a corner and heard it. Muffled crying, barely audible above the noise of the party. Elissa pushed her brother to the side before he could react and pressed herself to the tall shrubbery to the side of the path, signalling for him to be quiet. She peeked around the corner and finally allowed him to follow to the scene.

A young woman stood tucked away in a niche, covering her face and obviously trying to make as little noise as possible. She was petite and had hair the colour of reddish honey, dark and straight onto her shoulders, which were bare enough to be fashionable yet still tasteful enough for the party of the Teyrn and Teyrna of Highever. The dress she wore was in the style most favoured by the young of Antiva, but much else was hidden in shadows.

Elissa frowned and looked around but there was nothing which stood out as the source of her distress. When she turned to see what Fergus thought of all this, she noticed that he was transfixed as he stared at the sight before him, eyes wide and surprised, a slight blush raising up his neck.

'I... I am sorry.'

She turned around and put a soft smile on like a mask, just sophisticated enough to be reassuring but not enough to make the young girl feel bad. Now she looked up Elissa could tell she was quite pretty despite her puffy eyes and red cheeks, with very symmetrical features and an oval face. She was also quite pale for an Antivan, which Elissa filed away for future note.

'It's quite alright, we were worried something had happened. I won't ask if you are well, but would you tell me what is wrong?'

The girl sniffed delicately and wiped at her face, careful not to smudge her elegant and subtle makeup.

'It is nothing to trouble you with, my lady.'

Her voice was quite pleasant as well, Elissa noted, tinged by a strong but intelligible accent. She doubted the girl knew who they were and was happy for it.

'No trouble at all.' She walked forward and extracted her own piece of lacy fabric from the small bag at her wrist, damning the fashions which dictated sleeves just above the elbow and not long enough to be useful at hiding anything in them.

The girl smiled shyly and took the handkerchief, dabbing at her eyes delicately. 'It is just that... everyone here is noble, you see, my lady.' A bittersweet smile. 'I am afraid my family overestimated the position of an Antivan merchant, even one as successful as ours, in the face of Ferelden nobility.'

Elissa's face visibly darkened. 'Has anyone been rude to you, my lady?'

The intentional form of address left the other woman a bit taken aback, but she recovered well and shook her head. 'Oh no, my lady, I could not dare to say such a thing.'

 _You cannot dare to say it, but they have._ Elissa could tell the other woman was getting flustered but could not hide her ire that someone had mistreated a guest in her family's home.

'We would never dream to imply that you would, my dear lady.' She watched her brother come forth, finally awakening from his stupor into his role as the heir of House Cousland. He could be every bit the nobleman, despite what a dunderhead she knew him to be. 'We are simply enquiring after your wellbeing and what we could do to improve upon it. If I may be so rude as to introduce us, we are Elissa and Bryce Cousland.' Elissa flinched. So much for using anonymity to her advantage in soothing the girl; she could kick her brother sometimes, and often did. 

'I am Oriana, my lord....' Her voice trailed off as she looked up into her brother's eyes, and Elissa suddenly felt quite out of place standing between the two. She slipped off to the side, her turn to act as a lookout as Fergus proceeded to fully and completely lose his heart to the lovely young Antivan.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
